Morning Meditations on the Importance of Oxygen

Is it
possible to overstate the importance of oxygen in the process of living?

Or could we say that breathing is “overrated” and its worth “exaggerated”?

If you’re shaking your
head in an emphatic, NO! then good. You get it.

Each cold and
dark morning, hot coffee in hand, I make my way to this spot. Not fully roused
from my sleep, I sip the boldly, warm liquid and let it work its magic from the
inside out. It is so quiet, for the moment all I can hear is the beating of my own heart. But, as the
light begins to illuminate the darkness, a bird joins the sunrise resulting in that mysterious
and perfect harmony they seem to
share. If I sit long enough, everything at rest, my mind begins to clear like
the a morning fog tends to do. I sit, and I wait for the miracle. And just as predictable as that glorious and
rising sun, I feel Him speak. The very Giver of life and Supplier of meaning begins
to call - to me. His Spirit within me
at work. These moments carry such weight that I sense eternity in them. When I begin
my day, listening and receiving, I begin my day acknowledging where my very
life comes from. And, it comes from my
God and his Word.

You see, there is no substitute for time spent
alone and at rest with the Lord, just as there is no substitute for oxygen or
any other means to respiration than breathing. We were, quite literally, made to do both. Denying the importance
of breathing and of oxygen, will not
lessen it. Saying you’ve no time or do not “operate” that way will not change
the suffocating effects of a lack of it. And, trying to fill your lungs with
something else, like water, will only result in drowning - not in further
enlightenment. There is no substitute
for oxygen for living just as, for a Christian, there is no substitute for time
spent with the Lord and in His Word. Not making time for this will only
result in a slow, painful burn-out that, in my experience, will feel much like
suffocating. And trying to fill the, literal need for communion with God, with
something other than Him and His Word, will net the same result that trying to
fill your lungs with water does when they were made for oxygen. Because, a Christian walk, without time with the Lord or in the
Bible, is exactly like a life without breathing and
without air: Dead.

I know that many may hear condemnation in these words of mine. But I would caution against confusing
condemnation with conviction. Conviction
is the work of the Holy Spirit showing us where we’ve been wrong and moving us
toward repentance and change. Condemnation is, by definition, the action of condemning
someone to a punishment or the handing-down of a sentence. We know that, as
Christians, Jesus’ death and resurrection assures us that we have escaped such punishment
and have been pardoned of our sentence. Yes,
we stand convicted – just not condemned.

In light of this reality (and it is a reality, not an opinion or preference) let’s commit to
not trying to live without oxygen. Let’s stop trying to breathe water like
it’s air and living Spiritually dead lives. Because, think of what would happen
to our greed, our racism, our anger, our fear, our judgement and condemnation
of each other – if we started breathing-in God and his Word. Imagine how we
would exhale grace, “peace, patience, kindness, gentleness…” Imagine if we
stopped viewing this time spent reading our Bibles and with our God as
something we don’t have time for and instead started recognizing it for the
very oxygen that it is. Oh, what an alive and life-giving Church
could we be then!

I am a lifelong learner, who enjoys a good book and a blank page. My pen is the means by which I navigate both the joys and challenges of being a Christ-following: wife, homeschooling-mother, daughter, and friend. It is through my writing that I best interact with the world.